CORC 1312

HW 1: Notepad, Web browsers, Email, Web 2.0

For this course, you will need to become familiar with two different Web browsers. If you are using a PC, one browser is Internet Explorer which should already be installed on your computer. If you are using a Mac, the default browser is Safari. The alternative browser is Firefox. You can get a free download of Firefox here.

You should save a bookmark to the assignment page for CORC 1312. In Firefox, you click on "Bookmarks" which is on the left side next to Location. Do this using Internet Explorer also, by clicking on "Favorites" on the top menu bar, and then choosing "add to favorites".

For this homework, you should use Notepad (PC) or TextEdit (Mac) to create and save a file. Print the file and hand it in.

  1. Go to http://www.census.gov
    • What is the current US population count?

  2. Visit each of these sites and describe what they offer (very briefly, 1 or 2 sentences.) Do any of them offer RSS feeds?
    1. Site #1
    2. Site #2
    3. Site #3
    4. Site #4
    5. Site #5

  3. Explore Web 2.0 content a bit. This site may be helpful.
    1. What is a personalized start page?
    2. Give an example of a web mashup and the topic it is covering.
    3. What is a wiki?
    4. What is the most recent listing on the College's blog BC Announcements?

  4. Print, fill out and hand in the student survey.

  5. Email:
    1. Send me (rudowsky@brooklyn.cuny.edu) an email message telling me about yourself - your background, your interests, your major, your plans - whatever you like. Be sure to sign your name!
    2. Make sure that you can send and reply to email.
    3. If you didn't have a chance to do so in the lab, make sure that you can email a file as an attachment.

  6. Read the article E-mail Saves Time But Being There Says More (NYT 1/26/2010) . What do you see as the pros and cons of using e-mail over a face to face conversation? How do phone calls and video phone calls stack up against e-mails and face to face conversations?